IN FOCUS
April 2006
Hail the day!
Spring - what a magical time of year! The gradual awakening of nature never fails to thrill. Other seasons have their advantages, of course, but spring holds such hope and promise for the year to come. The hardy snowdrops as they push their way through the frosty ground, then the perky crocuses which give such a burst of colour in the drab garden, all lift the heart. But the beautiful daffodils always amaze me by their fantastic show of golden yellow and their ability to withstand the typical spring weather of north east winds, snow showers and torrential rain. When the sun does come out, what pleasure they bring, reminding us so much of the hope and promise of the first Easter.
What a transformation! The eleven disciples had heard that Jesus was alive, but that made no difference to them. Only when Jesus himself appeared to them, did they believe. At once their lack of faith and stubbornness vanished and they were transformed into people sent ‘throughout the world ‘ with the good news about someone whom they had recently thought to be dead.
If they had persisted in believing he was dead, they would have remained stuck forever in their bewilderment and grief, just as they had been since Jesus was crucified. But it was not an idea about Jesus that changed them. They did not meet to discuss what to do next and decide that Jesus’ teaching was worth a wider audience. No: it was Jesus himself who changed them. It was Jesus who sent them out to tell the world about him. And it was Jesus who gave them sufficient power and strength. It was Jesus who continued to work with them as they went on their way.
No idea about Jesus can change us either, it is Jesus himself, alive and active, who transforms us, sends us and works with us. Let’s make time to encounter him today and let him change our hearts and minds.
Thank God – Jesus is alive!
‘Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and proved their preaching was true by the miracles that were performed.’
Mark 16: 20
At your feet we fall, mighty risen Lord,
As we come before your throne to worship You
By Your Spirit’s power, You now draw our hearts
And we hear Your voice in triumph ringing clear:
I am He that liveth, that liveth and was dead.
Behold I am alive for evermore.
Margaret Riley
Please pray for:
- Debbie and Robin that they will feel the love and support of their friends at Central
- Intake URC, Doncaster, whose new church building will be open for worship at Easter and formally blessed on April 29th
- those who have been so moved by the Mystery Play on 1st April that they wish to learn more about the Christian faith
- the ecumenical activities taking place in the city centre and in particular the meeting of JCS1 and where this might lead
from the Minister
Wishing you all a very happy Easter and may you know the love of the crucified and risen Christ and be enriched and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
With every blessing, Bob
Ideas Morning – What Happens Next?
Well, what a wonderful sight, a full Norfolk Room after a morning service, working together on positive ideas when they’d rather be going home to roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. So what happens next? Are they all going to go into hibernation, will we set up the eternal committees, or will we see a transformation within weeks? Well, a mixture of each really.
The Ideas Group of Bob, Elaine, Pam and Albert read about 76 ideas 9 days later, which they consolidated under 7 headings. These are Worship, Communications (IT for Information Technology, for short), Fabric, Social, Discipleship, Outreach and General. The next week Management Committee accepted the need for Fabric and IT Groups. 8 days later Elders discussed them all too. They will work with Bob on some of the ideas, leaving Social, General and Fabric to be dealt with by new Groups. This is where you can come on board if you wish. You can’t leave it all to Elders and Management.
Ideas need people to follow them through, and you are people. David Leon, David Williams and Anna Flaherty have agreed to be the ‘experts’ on the IT Group, but will welcome others who don’t necessarily have technical expertise, but can see what is required for us to move into the 21st century. 13 ideas related to the social side need a group to discuss and progress them, 16 ideas on fabric similarly. The Ideas Group will set out some ground rules fairly soon to ensure progress is maintained and then it’s away we go.
So, what next, you will eagerly enquire? First a word of caution. Some ideas simply cannot be afforded for now. But I am sure that you appreciate that anyway, and there is an undertaking that all will be looked at by somebody. Everyone who put their name to an idea will be told by Albert where their idea has finished up, but not all on the same day, and any new ideas can be fed to any of the Ideas Group too, so none of this ‘they think it’s all over’. We need to be constantly alive to new or re-suggested ideas, and if you weren’t there on that it’s not too late to come on board now and join the rest of us. Volunteers to serve on the IT, Fabric and Social Groups should give their names to Bob, Elaine, Pam or Albert. Without volunteers nothing can be progressed, and as CJ said in the Leonard Rossiter programme, Central didn’t get where it is today by not having ideas and progressing them. Well something like that anyway.
Albert, Bob Elaine and Pam.
Minibus Trips
I have had a few requests for Minibus Trips to specific places, including Fountains Abbey and St Annes-on-Sea. These are somewhat further away than our usual locations but if there is sufficient interest in trips to either of these locations I will try and arrange them.
Our planned trip for March 17th had to be cancelled due to the poor weather around that time but there will be further trips around the locality in due course. Please see “This Week” for details or listen out for announcements on Sundays and Tuesdays.
Tuesday Service
For some time we have had a small group of young people coming to the Tuesday Service on a very regular basis and more recently this group has started to grow. They are a group who meet up in town for social and pastoral reasons all of whom have a Christian faith and who wish to engage in Christian worship. They have chosen to come to join us on a Tuesday and have expressed their delight in being made very welcome and in feeling able to worship in a way which suits their needs. I am delighted that God has led them to join our fellowship on a Tuesday and that they have now become such an integral part of our mid-week worship. I pray that this will continue and grow.
Bob.
Is anyone there?
A little boy was afraid of the dark. One night his mother told him to go outside and get the broom. He said, “I don’t want to go out there, mum, it’s dark!”
“You don’t have to be afraid of the dark,” said his mother reassuringly. “Jesus is out there. He’ll look after you and protect you.”
“Are you sure he’s out there?” asked the boy.
“Yes, I’m sure. He is everywhere, and he is always ready to help you when you need him.”
The little boy thought for a minute and then went to open the door a little. Peering out into the darkness, he called, “Jesus? If you’re out there, would you please hand me the broom?”
Alpha Course
We are now approximately half way through the current Alpha Course and it is going very well. On Saturday April 8th we will be having the “Alpha Day” at church where we will be gaining a greater understanding of the Holy Spirit and how we can be filled with the Holy Spirit. This has proved to be a lively course with a lot of discussion and an encouraging amount of participation from all members of the group and there is a strong feeling that the material itself and the use of the videos to present the material is very effective and ideal for our use at Central.
We are now planning for the autumn season and are considering both daytime courses and also at least one course taking place in someone’s home, which we hope will allow more of you to be able to participate.
Please watch this space for further announcements, and then start thinking about who you might invite to come along.
If you have any questions or queries about the Alpha Course please see Elaine, Hilary or Bob.
Alpha Follow-up Course
For those who have already been on an Alpha Course we are planning an Alpha follow-up group which will be entitled “A Life Worth Living”. This is a 9-session course based on the book of Philippians and presented in a similar way to Alpha. Details have not yet been worked out so, once again, watch this space, or have a word with Hilary, Elaine or Bob.
Easter Garden
The teachers and children of Junior Church are producing an Easter Garden which will be displayed in the window of the Norfolk Room from Easter Day onwards. Many thanks to Dawn and all her helpers for being willing to make this on our behalf.
JCS1 meeting on Friday April 7th
Just when you were wondering what had happened to JCS1 here it is again!
JCS1 simply stands for Jesus Christ in Sheffield 1 and comprises people from the six churches represented by Churches Together in Sheffield City Centre who wish to discuss issues which affect us all and which link us all. It has tended to be a “think-tank” and also an “action-station” for those who feel motivated to get things done, and it is for these reasons that a meeting has been arranged for Friday April 7th.
The meeting will be from 6pm to 7pm and will be to discuss all the suggestions which were brought forward by those who attended the ecumenical service in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
Please come along to this meeting to further the ecumenical activities which have already started to bear fruit and to identify areas of service we can offer collectively to the needs of the people of Sheffield.
Mothering Sunday
Many thanks to Angela and Rosie for preparing the beautiful roses which were given out to all the ladies in the congregation.
Easter Services
This year we are the host church for the Maundy Thursday Communion Service, which will commence 7.30pm and will be a joint service with friends from Victoria Hall Methodist Church. On Good Friday we are invited to a joint service at Victoria Hall at 12 noon.
On Easter Day our early communion service at 9am will take place in the Norfolk Room and this will be followed by an Easter breakfast. At 10.45am we will then have an “Easter Praise” service which will be a great opportunity to sing all our favourite Easter hymns and songs together with appropriate bible readings, drama and poetry.
Rosie and Marion have kindly produced an Easter Card which contains details of all these services and they are also included in the “What’s On” leaflet. Please make use of these and give them to your friends and family so that they might join us over this the most significant season of the Christian year.
South Yorkshire District HOTLINE
District Meeting held on 9th March 2006
Opening Worship was led by Wadsley URC.
Following a welcome to members by the President and approval of the minutes of the previous meeting the third of the presentations by member churches was introduced. These presentations provide the opportunity for Council to hear and see how churches in our District offer a witness to their local community.
News of our local churches
On this occasion it was the turn of Hall Gate URC. A Power Point presentation gave District a snapshot of the life and witness of the church in the centre of Doncaster. Hall Gate has offered a witness on the site for 200 years and the presentation covered a wide range of devotion and outreach. Worship and the Sacraments provide the foundation for the life of the church. We saw how the church (at present in vacancy) frames its worship to be ‘user-friendly’ particularly, for example, when Services include baptisms and many people may be unfamiliar with church life.
The coffee lounge was opened in 1976 and the facility provides much more than a place for coffee and fellowship. The room is used for various meetings and for evening Services. A Fairtrade stall is also situated here. The multi-purpose halls are used for many and varied activities, both for the fellowship at Hall Gate and for the community, as the church reaches out. Homeless breakfasts have been a feature for many years and facilities have over those years been extended – now providing shower and washing facilities and a clothing store. The Banner Group was seen at work (their work can be seen in the church). Examples of members sharing in fellowship were seen: Christian Aid walks, Garden Parties, Emmaus courses – and others using the premises include young people in uniformed organisations e.g. Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Brownies.
A busy and active church – but a church seeking to extend its witness in, perhaps, new ways. So at present workshops are held to ask questions like ‘where are we going?’ and ‘how best can we use the facilities that we have?’ and ‘what is the most appropriate way to do this?’
And a church looking to strengthen its prayer life which underpins all it seeks to do in Christ’s name.
Pastoral Committee
Mr Rupert Norris is appointed the Link Person to Emmanuel Church, Waterthorpe.
Following the departure of the Revd Canon Michael Fudger the process is underway to appoint a new vicar of the Church of Christ, Darnell.
Churches were reminded of the need for a Child Protection Policy stressing that it does have to be carefully monitored.
Business Committee
A new scheme for re-development at Meersbrook Park URC is being processed. And Trinity URC, Barnsley is pursuing funding with a view to the building extension and alteration. The re-development at Intake URC is on target: for a hand-over of the building at the end of March; the first Service in the new building on Easter Day and a Dedication Service on 29th April at 3pm (the Synod Moderator will lead worship).
Representatives to the General Assembly at Exeter University in July will be the Revds Nick Percival and Dr Sarah Hall and Mrs Lorraine Percival. One other lay person may attend.
Other Business
Resolutions 40 and 41 9 (see the January HOTLINE) were both passed by the Yorkshire Synod.
And our congratulations to Mrs Gwen Smithies who received a City of Sheffield Civic Award for her community work.
District Council meets next on Thursday 11th May 2006 (AGM) at Hall United Reformed Church, Doncaster
EASTER PARTY
at Bob and Sylvia’s
18 Mellington Close, Norton
Sunday 16th April 2 to 4 pm
Easter Bonnet competition
egg hunt – stick the beak on the chick
plus other games and refreshments
Please bring your Easter Bonnet with you and arrive promptly as the party will start with an Easter Bonnet Parade.
When the thoughts won’t come…..
As I was sitting at my computer on Tuesday wondering about topics for the prayer focus, I looked up the website for the Sheffield Star. There I found that their leading news was about a couple from High Storrs, Martin and Vashti Downs, who have taken on an immense challenge in KwaZulu-Natal, which has earned the title of the Aids capital of the world because of the frighteningly high death rate from Aids in that area.
Those who regularly read the Star will probably have also read the article about all that they are doing and what problems face them. For me it showed what can be done with determination, sacrifice, commitment and love, and support from family and friends back home.
They are in the process of setting up Project O, which is an orphans’ charity currently reaching its final stages of registration in South Africa. “ Project O plans to support financially South African families taking in the orphaned children of their relatives. It also aims to scatter Intocongwame Hill with as many small children’s homes as money and space will allow. A trained ‘mother’ will care for six children in each thatched cottage, with seven initially planned.
(If anyone is interested in reading the article I have a copy.)
This then took me on to searching other websites to see what facts I could find out about this part of South Africa. I found some horrendous statistics, which I quote.
‘Last year the Child Welfare Society of South Africa discovered the following facts:
- § South Africa has the highest HIV infection rate in the world.
- § There are approx. 120 000 AIDS orphans in KwaZulu-Natal.
- § In KwaZulu-Natal the death rate due to AIDS is now higher that the birth rate.
- § 90% of the world’s 11 million AIDS orphans are in Africa.
- § There are currently 29.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- § In South Africa alone 2000 HIV+ babies are born every day.
Then I knew what to focus on.
MHW
Meditative Prayer
Read – Matthew 19:13-22
And the children came,
Boisterous, free-spirited,
No preconceptions,
Enjoying just being,
And you said,
The kingdom of heaven is theirs.
A rich man came,
One of the world’s success stories,
A high flier,
An achiever,
Shelves stacked with glittering prizes,
And you said,
Give it away,
Because you’ve lost what the children have got.
Lord,
It’s so easy to lose the kingdom,
So easy to clutter life up,
And make the simple complicated.
So lead us to the simplicity of life with you.
Open our eyes and show us how near we are to your kingdom,
for it brushes our sleeve
As children play, and the rain drips from the branch,
As laughter breaks the tension, and the smell of fresh bread
permeates the house.
Take away the barriers,
Stop us from falling into rich young man syndrome,
And being so rich, so relisious, so clever that we lose sight of you,
Our simple, gracious loving God.
Grant us the grace to set our inner child free,
For we ask it in the name of the one who welcomed the children.
David Cornick
(from URCHIN –United Reformed Children’s Information Network)
Prayer Focus
Week One
Pray for Project O – a charity supporting orphan children in KwaZulu-Natal where an orphan is created every six seconds because of the Aids epidemic. Think, in particular, of Martin and Vashti Downs, who have taken up the challenge of rescuing these orphans from neglect, abuse and grinding poverty.
(See article).
Week Two
The week begins with Palm Sunday. As we look forward to Holy Week and all in which that involves us, let us pray for the witness that began on 1st April with the Passion Play and continues with our joint witness with the other city centre churches at the Cross. Remember our joint services with our friends at the Victoria Hall on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. May this prove to be a time of renewal for us all.
Week Three
Easter Day - Hallelujah! The Lord is risen.
He lives: all glory to his name!
What love, unchangeably the same!
What joy the blest assurance gives.
I know that my Redeemer lives!
(Samuel Medley 1738 –99)
Week Four
Pray that as a fellowship we will not allow all the ideas that have been put forward to lie mouldering in a filing cabinet or gathering dust on a shelf. May the impetus that began that Sunday lunchtime continue. Let us have a new Vision Statement hanging on the wall to remind us, challenge us and get us all involved in the life of Central and the city centre.
Week Five
As we are coming, hopefully, to better and lighter evenings, focus this week on those for whom the soup run has been a life-line over the past months. Many have come, have been ‘fed and watered’, acquired warm clothing and been able to talk to people who come to help. Remember, also, those who give up their time to prepare the food and to hand it out making this work possible.
